All-Star center Andrew Bynum played seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. Within that time period he's made three NBA Finals appearances and won two championships.
Though he's had much success in L.A., he felt Kobe's Bryant's ball-dominant ways hurt his development as one of the league's best centers.
"I thought it really helped me a lot obviously at first, because he draws so much attention it's hard for guys to double team and key on you, so it helped me tremendously," Bynum told a group of L.A. reporters before the Lakers played the Sixers on Sunday. "Later, I felt I was able to get the ball more and do more things with the ball, so I could definitely see how it could stunt growth."
Despite it all, Bynum still has a very high opinion of where he currently ranks among the game's big men.
"Personally I think they traded No. 1 for No. 2," Bynum said, referring to the Lakers acquiring the 27-year-old Dwight Howard as the major part of the four-team exchange that landed him in Philly.
Bynum also said: "Dwight's a great player, but he's going to have to get accustomed to playing with Kobe (Bryant) and not touching the ball every single play."
Bryant met up with Bynum, after scoring 34 points in the Lakers' 111-98 win over the Sixers, and later agreed with his statements and was not offended by his former teammate's comments.
"For sure, because when you're playing with me you obviously have to sacrifice something," Bryant said. "Same thing with me and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal). You kind of off-set each other to a certain extent. So, I mean, that's true. When he gets back and he's healthy, he'll come out here and he'll be the focal point of their attack and he'll be getting the ball more and you'll see big games from him more consistently."
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